WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:13.640 This is Hacker Public Radio episode 4,000 and 60 for Friday the 23rd of February 2024. 00:13.640 --> 00:17.640 Today's show is entitled, Florida to Georgia. 00:17.640 --> 00:20.040 It is part of the series Travel. 00:20.040 --> 00:24.320 It is hosted by Avocac and is about 12 minutes long. 00:24.320 --> 00:26.960 It carries a clean flag. 00:26.960 --> 00:28.560 The summary is. 00:28.560 --> 00:41.640 We wrap up our Florida adventure and move up to Georgia. 00:41.640 --> 00:46.840 Hello, this is Huka, welcoming you to Hacker Public Radio and another exciting episode 00:46.840 --> 00:55.800 in our ongoing series about our RV Travels and we're going to pick up with having finished 00:55.800 --> 01:04.560 our, we get to finish our Kennedy stay and start moving north in this trip. 01:04.560 --> 01:14.560 So on January 26th, we got up at 4.15 a.m. hoping to see a launch of a SpaceX rocket. 01:14.560 --> 01:19.720 But we couldn't see it from where we were just a little too far away. 01:19.720 --> 01:25.200 We did watch it on the SpaceX website, but you know, you can do that anywhere. 01:25.200 --> 01:31.360 After that, we went back to bed and I decided I needed a rest day after being busy for 01:31.360 --> 01:36.560 many days in a row, so I slept in a little, had a leisurely breakfast, just kind of hung 01:36.560 --> 01:38.960 out all day. 01:38.960 --> 01:45.160 On the 27th, our last full day here, we went back to the Kennedy space center. 01:45.160 --> 01:49.800 We had a couple of errands to do on the way, like filling up on diesel fuel, so we were 01:49.800 --> 01:54.560 a little late getting there, or at least later than originally planned. 01:54.560 --> 01:58.800 But we got to the universe theater for a presentation by NASA astronaut. 01:58.800 --> 02:00.880 They do that every day there. 02:00.880 --> 02:05.800 And this time it was Barbara Morgan from STS-118. 02:05.800 --> 02:11.160 She went through the entire mission and described in detail what she and her crewmates 02:11.160 --> 02:12.160 did. 02:12.160 --> 02:18.680 Now if you're not familiar with NASA, no-manclature, STS means the shuttle. 02:18.680 --> 02:24.400 So it was the 118th shuttle mission. 02:24.400 --> 02:31.200 So it was interesting to see what they were doing on that, it was an outstanding presentation. 02:31.200 --> 02:34.560 We then checked out the journey to Mars exhibits. 02:34.560 --> 02:38.800 We had seen the presentation there a few days ago, but now we went back to look at the rest 02:38.800 --> 02:40.560 of the building. 02:40.560 --> 02:45.440 Then we checked out a concept vehicle for a Mars rover when there is a manned mission 02:45.440 --> 02:47.440 there. 02:47.440 --> 02:52.160 From there, we poked our heads into planet play just to see what it was and it was a play 02:52.160 --> 02:54.560 area for kids. 02:54.560 --> 02:57.560 Finally we went to the heroes and legends building. 02:57.560 --> 03:00.680 It had a couple of filmed presentations to start. 03:00.680 --> 03:06.680 Then exhibits relating to the astronauts with many videos, a mock-up of the Mercury control 03:06.680 --> 03:11.080 room and the astronaut hall of fame. 03:11.080 --> 03:16.600 We left feeling like we had seen just about everything we could see of any great significance 03:16.600 --> 03:21.640 at Kennedy and it was a great experience for a space nerd. 03:21.640 --> 03:25.320 I'm ended highly. 03:25.320 --> 03:28.840 Next day the 28th travel day. 03:28.840 --> 03:33.640 So we refilled our empty propane bottle and got a good start. 03:33.640 --> 03:40.680 It was a short trip, stayed up, straight up, um, I-95 to the four lakes RV park outside 03:40.680 --> 03:45.560 of St. Augustine where we had a four-nate stay booked. 03:45.560 --> 03:50.120 The trip was pretty straightforward, but when we arrived we found that the people on duty 03:50.120 --> 03:55.840 here were from our part of Michigan, it's just, I really couldn't believe all of that. 03:55.840 --> 03:58.040 That's been happening to us so much. 03:58.040 --> 04:03.640 Park is very nice after setting up, we went out for a walk to stretch the legs a little. 04:03.640 --> 04:12.560 Um, okay, next day, January 29th, Sherald didn't sleep well, so we took today as a rest 04:12.560 --> 04:13.560 day. 04:13.560 --> 04:15.960 I spent most of it reading a book. 04:15.960 --> 04:18.600 You need periodic rest days on these trips. 04:18.600 --> 04:22.480 One slung RV trip is not like a week long vacation. 04:22.480 --> 04:26.520 You have those days that are like a vacation. 04:26.520 --> 04:31.280 But you also have to buy groceries, make dinner, do the laundry, and so on. 04:31.280 --> 04:35.160 It's more of a mobile lifestyle. 04:35.160 --> 04:44.260 Now, next day, the 30th, January 30th, we went into St. Augustine and boarded the 04:44.260 --> 04:51.580 tram. It is a hop-on hop-off way to get around the town and see all of the attractions. 04:51.580 --> 04:58.020 We hopped off when we got to Castillo San Marcos, which is a national monument, so I got 04:58.020 --> 05:02.020 another stamp in my national park's passport. 05:02.020 --> 05:07.700 St. Augustine is the oldest European settlement in America, predating both James Town 05:07.700 --> 05:08.900 and Plymouth. 05:08.900 --> 05:12.180 It was established in 1565. 05:12.180 --> 05:15.860 So explorers had visited the area previously. 05:15.860 --> 05:20.940 They called it Florida because of all the flowers they saw. 05:20.940 --> 05:26.380 The Spanish discovered the Gulf Stream, which runs right up the coast of Florida, and it 05:26.380 --> 05:32.180 made for more rapid transit from the new world back to Spain for the many treasure fleets 05:32.180 --> 05:33.980 that they had. 05:33.980 --> 05:39.100 And to protect those fleets from pirates and from other European powers, not a whole 05:39.100 --> 05:41.420 lot of difference between the two. 05:41.420 --> 05:46.300 They needed fortified outposts, which is why St. Augustine was settled. 05:46.300 --> 05:52.260 The Castillo San Marcos took a few decades to build, but once completed it proved to be 05:52.260 --> 05:54.700 impregnable. 05:54.700 --> 06:01.220 We listened to a couple of historical presentations from a dosent there about the fort. 06:01.220 --> 06:07.340 The first was about the Spanish monarchy, and the Spain colonization of the Americas. 06:07.340 --> 06:14.820 And the second was about the use of the fort later on as an American institution. 06:14.820 --> 06:18.420 Now this area did change in several times. 06:18.420 --> 06:26.860 The British got it in the seven years' war, then lost it in the American Revolution 06:26.860 --> 06:29.740 when it went back to Spain and ally of America. 06:29.740 --> 06:42.060 So the seven years' war was 1763, Treaty of Paris 1783 that ended the American Revolution. 06:42.060 --> 06:48.380 Then America decided it wanted Florida and purchased it from Spain in 1819. 06:48.380 --> 06:52.260 Florida became a state in 1845. 06:52.260 --> 07:02.140 Now the Castillo San Marcos became Fort Marion named after Francis Marion, the Swampfox, 07:02.140 --> 07:07.940 and they purchased, no, and during the Civil War it was occupied by both Union and Confederate 07:07.940 --> 07:11.140 forces at different times. 07:11.140 --> 07:16.060 After the Civil War it was used to imprison Native American leaders who surrendered at the 07:16.060 --> 07:18.020 end of the Red River War. 07:18.020 --> 07:24.900 Now the Commander of the Fort Captain Pratt decided he didn't want to just watch them die. 07:24.900 --> 07:32.540 So he embarked on a program of education, but it was also about stamping out their culture. 07:32.540 --> 07:38.780 They had a saying that, you know, Chile and Indian save the man. 07:38.780 --> 07:43.780 So that's kind of what they were about doing there. 07:43.780 --> 07:53.700 Well, the Commander of the Fort, then that was Captain Pratt. 07:53.700 --> 07:59.820 He went on to found the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania after leaving the Fort. 07:59.820 --> 08:07.380 And Carlisle Indian School is famous as the place where Jim Thorpe went to school. 08:07.380 --> 08:14.380 And he recently was restored as Olympic medals. 08:14.380 --> 08:18.620 So we spent a few hours at the Castillo then hopped back on the tram. 08:18.620 --> 08:24.140 Now many of the attractions were just tourist traps that we had no interest in, but the 08:24.140 --> 08:26.500 fountain of youth looked promising. 08:26.500 --> 08:34.340 We finished the tour, did some shopping, and then headed back to the RV. 08:34.340 --> 08:42.060 Now on January 31st, our last full day here, we headed back to St. Augustine to visit 08:42.060 --> 08:44.060 the fountain of youth site. 08:44.060 --> 08:49.700 Now, upon say daily on, did visit this area, and there is a spring. 08:49.700 --> 08:54.460 I took a drink, but I can't say that I feel any younger yet. 08:54.460 --> 08:56.660 But the site was worth the visit for other things. 08:56.660 --> 09:01.860 It is an active archaeological site exploring the first European settlement in what is now 09:01.860 --> 09:05.380 the US, as well as the native inhabitants. 09:05.380 --> 09:11.820 They had demonstrations of period weapons, blacksmithing, a planetary in presentation on the 09:11.820 --> 09:18.460 celestial navigation practiced by Spanish mariners, the original mission church, native houses, 09:18.460 --> 09:20.100 and so on. 09:20.100 --> 09:23.300 We thought it was well worth the three hours we spent there. 09:23.300 --> 09:30.820 Now, after leaving, we filled the truck with diesel fuel and went back to the RV. 09:30.820 --> 09:34.260 The next day, February 1st, another travel day. 09:34.260 --> 09:39.660 It was about a three-hour trip from the St. Augustine area up to Savannah, Georgia, and that 09:39.660 --> 09:41.140 wasn't too bad. 09:41.140 --> 09:46.740 I think we really did a better job this trip of keeping our driving down to a more manageable 09:46.740 --> 09:47.740 level. 09:47.740 --> 09:54.980 We were in the Savannah Oaks campground, which is nice, has lots of shade, and we relaxed 09:54.980 --> 09:59.780 after getting the RV set up. 09:59.780 --> 10:06.460 Next day, February 2nd, after breakfast, we headed into Savannah to take a look around. 10:06.460 --> 10:10.820 We went to the visitor center first to get a map and some information. 10:10.820 --> 10:15.620 There seemed to be several hop-on hop-off tours available, one of which appeared to be the 10:15.620 --> 10:19.860 same company as the one in St. Augustine. 10:19.860 --> 10:24.580 And since we were not entirely satisfied with that one, and the other company was local, 10:24.580 --> 10:26.940 we went with the local company. 10:26.940 --> 10:29.900 We really looked out with a very knowledgeable guide. 10:29.900 --> 10:35.140 We did a complete tour that took about 90 minutes, then got on another one, and hopped 10:35.140 --> 10:37.500 off it for a size park. 10:37.500 --> 10:41.480 From there, we walked through some of the neighborhoods on our way back to the visitor 10:41.480 --> 10:43.820 center where we were parked. 10:43.820 --> 10:49.540 Now, Savannah was the first planned city in the U.S., and the streets are laid out in a 10:49.540 --> 10:54.140 rectangular grid, so there are no diagonals here. 10:54.140 --> 10:58.780 There's a lot of history here from the conflict with Spain, to the American Revolution, 10:58.780 --> 11:01.380 and of course the Civil War. 11:01.380 --> 11:06.220 More recently, a lot of movies were shot here, such as Forest Gump. 11:06.220 --> 11:13.020 Now, when we were at the Castillo San Marcos in St. Augustine, they told us with some pride 11:13.020 --> 11:19.460 how General Ogil Thorpe brought an army into Florida to try and take the fort, and was defeated 11:19.460 --> 11:21.660 and sent back in failure. 11:21.660 --> 11:27.260 And Savannah, the story, is about how he was on guard to protect the colony from the Spanish, 11:27.260 --> 11:30.500 while every situation has two sides. 11:30.500 --> 11:36.780 In the American Revolution, Casimir Pulaski, from Poland, came here to create a cathalory 11:36.780 --> 11:42.180 for Washington's army, and he ended up dying in Savannah and his buried here. 11:42.180 --> 11:49.420 And, of course, General William to come to Sherman, ended his famous march to the sea here, 11:49.420 --> 11:54.460 and prevented Savannah to President Lincoln as a Christmas present. 11:54.460 --> 11:56.380 Now, Savannah is a beautiful city. 11:56.380 --> 12:03.260 In the grid, our park squares, every couple of blocks, with lovely trees and Spanish moss everywhere. 12:03.260 --> 12:05.460 And the architecture is lovely. 12:05.460 --> 12:10.620 The old houses all have a flight of stairs outside that lead to the entrance. 12:10.620 --> 12:16.060 That's because the kitchens were all placed at ground level, and were operated by enslaved 12:16.060 --> 12:21.420 people, so the actual family living began one flight up. 12:21.420 --> 12:26.420 There's a lot of very nice decorative iron work, and the works that created the iron work 12:26.420 --> 12:31.900 also supplied a lot to New Orleans, so they looked similar to what we saw in the French 12:31.900 --> 12:32.900 Quarter. 12:32.900 --> 12:43.620 Now, the next day, February 3rd, it was rainy, so we stayed in, we did a few chores, and then 12:43.620 --> 12:46.300 went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. 12:46.300 --> 12:50.780 But mostly a day of rest, we've been on the road for most of two months now, and a bit 12:50.780 --> 12:54.260 of tiredness is creeping in. 12:54.260 --> 13:00.180 So, this is a hookah for Hacker Public Radio, signing off, and inviting you as always to support 13:00.180 --> 13:01.180 free software. 13:01.180 --> 13:01.900 Bye-bye. 13:01.900 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